Making all the necessary preparations to bury a loved one can be a deeply exhausting event both physically and psychologically. Attempting to do so without sufficient financial resources can make the situation all the more difficult.

If you have ever been put in the situation where you have to help with the final arrangements after the death of a loved one, you know that finances are the last thing you want to worry about at that time, but it is a very real concern. Funeral and burial or cremation costs can be over $5,000, sometimes even well over $10,000.

Dealing with the loss of a loved one is difficult enough without having to worry about this financial burden.

Final expense insurance plans are designed just for this situation. They can help to mitigate the financial blow that can be dealt to loved ones left behind.

Planning a service with the support of a reputable funeral director can help you to plan ahead for your inevitable demise. Doing so allows you to make sure your final wishes are all met, but it also takes the burden of planning for your final arrangements off of your family and friends. You can decide if you want to be buried or cremated, have a small ceremony or larger one, and take care of any other wishes you would like to see met. Sitting down with a funeral director is helpful because they can bring things to your attention that you would never have thought of or planned for.

With the arrangements planned ahead of time, you know what the associated cost is going to be and can begin planning for how to pay for those arrangements.

If you know that financially you will not be able to pay for the final arrangements out of pocket, you can look for a funeral insurance policy to cover your final expenses.

As with other types of insurance policies, there are a wide range of options and coverage available. You can find funeral policies in both term and whole life plans. With term polices, the coverage is in force for a specific time designated by the policy. If you pass away in that time frame, the death benefit is paid out. If you outlive the term, you are no longer covered. Whole life policies remain in force, but are generally more expensive and provide less of a death benefit. They often can be purchased at older ages where term policies are not available.

Obtaining a final expense insurance policy is fairly simple. Most policies just require you to answer a few simple medical questions to prove your eligibility. You can also find guaranteed issue policies which you may qualify for when health conditions would otherwise disqualify you. They are more expensive than other policies.

With serious health issues, the insurance carrier may offer you a graded benefits policy. With this type of policy, you will be required to survive a minimum amount of time before the full death benefit would be paid out. Typically, if a policy holder passes away before that minimum time period, premiums paid into the policy are returned and sometimes include a modest amount of interest as well.

Not everyone can afford a traditional life insurance policy or qualify for one. This is where a funeral insurance policy can be the right choice to give you the peace of mind that you are not leaving a financial burden behind for your loved ones.

Insurance fraud costs companies millions of dollars each year, and the problem continues to get worse. Fortunately, insurance agents have become adept at spotting fraudulent claims, which can keep you from losing money if you are caught up in an automobile insurance scam. Rob Sorensen from a Orem auto insurance agency, sent us these ways that you can spot auto insurance fraud or scams.

Warning Signs of a Scam

If you’ve been involved in a car accident, you may not be worried about whether you are the victim of a scam at that time. The people running the scam are probably counting on you being too shaken up to notice anything unusual about what is taking place after the accident occurs. However, if you are vigilant, here are some warning signs that a scam is being run on you.

Recommendations to Professionals

After the accident has occurred, and the authorities have been contacted, you may be approached by someone recommending you see a doctor or hire an attorney. While that may not be unusual, if they recommend a specific doctor or attorney, you should be cautious, as they could be trying to commit insurance fraud. Politely decline their recommendations, go to your own doctor if needed, and retain your own attorney.

Insistence to File an Injury Claim

Some doctors are not above filing false claims to receive payments by insurance companies. If you see a doctor after you’ve been in a car accident, and they insist that you file an injury insurance claim even when you haven’t been injured, they are trying to get you to commit fraud. Your medical insurance will pay for you to see a doctor, and if you haven’t been injured in the accident, do not file any unnecessary claims. You could get in serious trouble if caught filing an unnecessary injury claim.

Help Automatically Arrives

If help of any kind arrives without someone calling for it, you should be cautious, because it is probably part of a scam. The most common occurrence is when a wrecker shows up for your car, and you hadn’t called for one. While there is a chance they were passing by and saw that you needed help, the more likely scenario is that they knew about the incident, because they are a part of the fraud. Ignore their offer of help and call for a tow truck yourself if you need one.

Inaccurate Claims Information

You should read over any information regarding your automobile accident, especially the claims information, to make sure it is accurate. The auto collision company, doctor, or another company involved with your claim may pad your claim so they can get paid more by your insurance company. If you see information that isn’t correct, contact those companies and your insurance company to question it and get the information corrected.

For more information on auto insurance fruad schemes, click here for a blog from BankRate.com

Most insurance companies are good at spotting fraudulent claims, but you can spot scams or fraud too. Be careful about excepting help after an accident and carefully go over all of the paperwork connected with the accident.

Choosing a life insurance policy can be a confusing process. You may have a lot of different options available to you depending on your personal circumstances. There are two main types of life insurance. Both term life insurance and whole life insurance can provide you with the benefits you and your family will need if something happens to you. However, which is the better option for you and your loved ones? It’s important to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all option.

Term life insurance policies are set in place for a fixed period. The owner of the policy makes payments in return for coverage during that time. The shortest amount of time that most term life insurance plans can cover is one year, but it is far more common for people to purchase policies that cover 10, 15, 25, or 30 years. If you die during the period of coverage, your insurance money will be paid out to your beneficiary. This is usually your spouse or your dependent children. They will be able to receive funds disbursed from the insurance company in order to cover funeral expenses as well as provide for living costs. Term life insurance is very affordable and is good for short-term goals.

When shopping you will quickly find the best life insurance companies offer a lot of different options with whole life policies. Whole life insurance has a few distinctive categories. One type is referred to as a non-participatingpolicy. This is where important values, such as premiums or death benefits, are decided upon when the policy is issued. These cannot be altered over the life of the policy. If you choose this option and your original estimates for death and survivor benefits are too low, then the insurance company will make up the difference. If your estimates turn out to be too high, then insurance company keeps the difference.

Another type of whole life insurance, called a participating policy, is an arrangement where excess profits or dividends are shared by both the insurance company and the policy holder. As a bonus, these dividends. are usually not taxable. The premiums for any whole life policy quickly become a stable and expected part of your budget. It grows a cash value that can provide for your family if you die unexpectedly.

Purchasing a life insurance policy can be a great way to plan for the future, but you should do your research before you commit to any one plan. Talk to a life insurance agent about your life circumstances and get professional advice on the options available to you.

When you are age 65 or over, you can get coverage for a number of your healthcare needs by using original Medicare, either Part A or Part B. However, not all of your needs will be covered by the original Medicare insurance so you may want to take a Medicare supplemental insurance policy into consideration. These policies, which are also known as Medigap policies, are basically insurance policies that are sold by a variety of companies that provide private insurance. These policies will work to cover a lot of the expenses out of pocket that would normally need to be covered by the original Medicare plan.

As a whole, you are going to see that the Medigap policies will not be able to cover you for long term care, dental or vision care, eyeglasses, private duty nursing or hearing aids. Because the Federal laws will allow for private insurance companies to offer the newer Medigap benefits to consumers, there are a number of providers that are starting to offer hearing and dental related policies. If you are curious as to what you may have covered, it is important that you ask questions when you get your first set of Medicare supplement quotes. Getting Medicare supplement quotes is really easy. Use the form at Medicaresupplementquotes.net and you will get a customized set of medicare supplemental insruance quotes to help you get started with your search for the right plan.

When it comes to qualifying for any type of Medigap policy, you will need to already have both of the Medicare Part A and Part B coverage plans. Your Medigap policy will actually only cover one individual. Because of this, if you are a married couple, each of you will need to purchase your own policy under your name. It goes without saying that the Medicare and Medigap supplemental insurance is a great option for anyone who is currently on Medicare Part A and Part B. When you are ready to sign up for coverage, it is always a good idea to look over all of the information and compare pricing to make sure that all of your needs will be met.

One of the most effective ways to make sure your family is well cared for in the event of your death is to invest in a good life insurance policy. It is only natural that no one likes to think about dying. However, purchasing life insurance is a proactive step that can be taken just in case tragedy strikes. You wouldn’t want your family to have financial worries and stress on top of everything else they were facing. That’s why selecting the best insurance policy for your family as well as yourself is so important. Here are some helpful suggestions to help you with making this critical decision.

To find the best plan, first you need to figure out how much coverage is needed. Be sure to take into account your fixed as well as recurring expenses. Another thing life insurance can be used for is paying funeral costs and other one time expenses. Funeral costs can get quite expensive and add unnecessary stress to a family that is already grieving. There are numerous online calculators that can be used to determine the amount of insurance coverage you need. You insurance agent also can assist you. One quick ballpark figure that is frequently used to figure out the amount of insurance coverage that will be needed is eight times your salary.

Before buying any insurance, make sure you get answers to all the important questions. Is the term life insurance policy you are considering convertible? If so, for how long? Find out if it can be renewed and if it will need to be re-qualified. Will you be able to cancel it? Are there any exclusions? Learn as much as you can about an insurance policy before purchasing it. This will enable you to choose the best one to provide for your family.

When it comes to protecting your family’s financial future, a good life insurance policy is an absolute necessity. There are numerous options available to you. At first it may seem overwhelming, trying to sort through all of them. However, if you follow the basic steps discussed here, it should help with making your decision easier and clearer. Contact your insurance agent. If you don’t have an agent I like the team at the Goldsmith Insurance Agency, because of their versatility and ability to work with pretty much any type of life insurance. Then discuss these tips and figure out the best way to ensure your family’s future financial security.

If you have Hepatitis C, you already know that you face many challenges in your day to day life that people without Hepatitis C could’t even begin to understand. One of those things, are all of the challenges that come along with trying to obtain life insurance with Hepatitis C.

Many people who are affected by the disease have come to believe that they are completely ineligible to take out any kind of life insurance at all. Fortunately for those suffering from Hepatitis C, that is not at all the case and there are more options for life insurance with Hepatitis C than ever before.

The way to get yourself a plan, and one with decent rates to boot, is simply finding the right life insurance company based on your specific Hepatitis C details. Most insurance companies, when assessing you will take a look at two things. First, is how much damage your liver has sustained and the second is whether or not your Hepatitis C is in remission or not. You should be able to figure out which are the signs that are seen as positive and which ones are seen as negative as well. This means that the best rates will be given to those who are in remission and have only received minor or no damage at all to their livers.

If your condition is showing minor symptoms or minor liver damage, then you will be considered a substandard risk, but don’t worry, because you are definitely still insurable. In a case like that, the best way to get a good rate is to have a liver biopsy from the last five years, although the more recent the better. Even though this biopsy is not required, it is still recommended and will help you to convince the insurance companies that you are insurable.

So if you have been scared away from the prospect of obtaining life insurance because you didn’t think you were insurable – you need to stop thinking like that immediately. You are most definitely insurable, it is just a matter of finding a life insurance company that is willing to work with your specific needs and showing them the details they need to see to feel secure about your situation. Remember, life insurance protects one of the most valuable assets you own – your life. Don’t go another day without being protected.

There are only two things certain in life – death and taxes – I think that’s what they say. Everybody is going to die sometime so a little forward planning will certainly not be a waste of time. Knowing that you have adequate burial insurance can give you and your family a certain peace of mind.
Nobody wants to leave the burden of their funeral expenses to their families so the least you can do is to get burial insurance to be sure that they won’t have to worry about it.
Burial insurance is really a life term insurance policy which is designed to pay for all of your funeral expenses. Death doesn’t come cheap you know, we’re all going to do it but it is often one of the most expensive things you’ll do in your lifetime after buying a house, getting married and raising children. Not a nice thought is it? Burial insurance makes sure that it’s all taken care of spreading the cost over affordable monthly repayments.
It is important that you have adequate burial insurance cover to pay for the type of send-off you have in mind. Cremations are significantly cheaper than burials but even so you are probably looking at thousands of dollars after everything has been taken into account:

Funeral home fees

Transport to the crematorium or cemetery

Cemetery fees

Casket

Tombstone

Flowers

Legal fees

There might even be enough money left over to pay for the family gathering afterwards.
Some people have the foresight to take out more burial insurance than they’re actually going to need to pay for their funeral expenses so that there is money left over to sort out things like loan repayments, mortgages, car payments etc.
The bottom line – if you have sufficient burial insurance then your family don’t have to worry about finding a large sum of money when they are in an already emotional state. It’s one less thing that they’ll have to worry about.

Medicare can be an easy transition if you know what to expect and ignore the massive amount of mail that is sitting in your mailbox each day. For most people you can get by this transition by knowing that when it comes to Medicare there are parts and there are plans.

The Parts of Medicare

There are three parts of Medicare that work together to provide you with health insurance coverage. Part A is designed to help with the expenses of being admitted to the hospital, hospice care, and skilled nursing care. Medicare Part B is there to help with out-patient services. These include doctor’s office visits and many minor surgeries. Basically if you do not get admitted to the hospital and you are not dying then Part B is what you will be using. Medicare Part D is designed to help with the cost of prescription drugs. These three pieces make up what most people would call “Traditional Medicare Coverage.”

Most people see me talk about Part A, Part B, and Part D and they ask, “What happened to Part C?” Part C does not work with the other three it is instead a program called Medicare Advantage that replaces traditional Medicare coverage with a private insurance policy. These policies are subsidized with the money that would normally get spent on your Medicare coverage and can be a great option for people who do not travel long distances.

Medicare Supplement Plans

Once you have your Medicare in place you will quickly realize that there are gaps in the coverage that Medicare provides. This means that people on a fixed income could be in a position where they have to deal with a large bill after an extended hospital stay or a series of out-patient services. To help with this private insurance companies partnered with the government to provide Medicare supplemental insurance. These Medigap plans are designed to fill the coverage gaps in Medicare Part A and Part B. There are ten plans in all and each one covers a different number of the gaps. The same plans have been adopted by 47 of the 50 states, with the exceptions being Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, whom have adopted their own standardized plans. What that means is that the best Texas Medicare supplement is no better in coverage than the same California Medicare supplement.

The vast majority of people on traditional Medicare coverage can benefit from one of these plans to make sure they only have to deal with a monthly bill instead of a large out of pocket health expense.

By getting the idea of parts and Medicare supplement plans in your head you can easily handle your transition to Medicare health insurance.

About Laura

Laura Gibson is a finance blogger who enjoys talking about the latest trends in the market, planning for retirement, insurance products, and daily money management. Working in the world of money and finance for the past 12 years (one of the most turbulent and diverse economic times in modern times), has given Laura great insight to share with those interested in money matters.